UNIC Canberra then facilitated a media training session – the main element of which was teaching the women media skills in order for them to interview each other about their experiences of coming to Australia as migrants and of rural living.

This visit was part of a broader rural campaign that UNIC Canberra and IOM have undertaken which has included visits to
Goulburn and Queanbeyan MulticulturalCentres. Numerous people have been very generous with both their stories and their time. UNIC Canberra’s videos from
these visits and other projects for the Together Campaign can be found here. And Audio stores here.

To describe the similarities of the lived experiences of the people we have met would be to highlight the spirit of courage, generosity and determination.

Wednesday 26 July, Canberra. UNIC Canberra had the privilege of organising the official launch of the joint UNIC/CIT Photography competition, a program which is also supported by CIT, the CSIRO, the National Gallery of Australia and the Guardian Australia Newspaper.

This is the eighth year of the Competition and we were pleased to see the contenders’ enthusiasm only growing as the years go on.

This year’s theme is the Together Campaign, a global initiative that aims to change negative perceptions and attitudes towards refugees and migrants, and to strengthen the social bond between host countries and communities, and refugees and migrants. It encourages refugees and migrants, and the communities that have benefited from their inclusion to share their stories, and to use their voices to make the world a better place.

Ms Nisha Director of Office and UNESCO Representative to the Pacific States discusses various aspects of migration including the observation that migration is closely connected to well-being, to historical developments and if we look at the most diverse societies today you will find that their diversity, their strength to their economic well-being , their social well-being comes from migration processes from the past.

United Nations – The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Louise Arbour talks about the role of media and responsible reporting in shaping the narrative on international migration.

On March 1, in the lead up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Information Centre Canberra, International Organization for Migration, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and the Canberra Multicultural Women Forum held a community event to promote the ‘Together, Safety and Dignity for All Initiative’ . It was also an opportunity to promote the recent establishment of the Canberra Multicultural Women’s Forum. The rest of the story is here also on our website.

On March 1, in the lead up to International Women’s Day, the United Nations Information Centre Canberra, International Organization for Migration, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and the Canberra Multicultural Women Forum held a community event to promote the ‘Together, Safety and Dignity for All Initiative’ . It was also an opportunity to promote the recent establishment of the Canberra Multicultural Women’s Forum (the Women’s Forum).

Opening the event the Chair of the Women’s Forum, Ms Laura Aoun noted that many of the people in the audience were living proof that those from migrant and refugee backgrounds have enriched Canberra and Australia more broadly in ‘more ways than we realize’.

The Director of the UNIC Canberra, Mr Christopher Woodthorpe, noted the similarities between the Women’s forum – which bases it work on equal participation of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – and the UN’s Together Initiative – which seeks to promote the importance of such work. In closing he invited everyone to celebrate women, rejoice in diversity and to come together.

Chief of Mission for IOM, Mr Jo Appiah, in his speech said that “on International Women’s Day the International Organization for Migration (IOM) embraces the official United Nations theme, Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030, by honoring migrant women and girls and called for us all to take a moment to recognize not just their specific contributions but also their challenges”.

Inter-dispersed between speeches the over one hundred strong audience was privy to two fine performances – firstly by the local ACT Chinese Australian Association Ladies Dance Group followed by the pace of some very colorful Colombians.

The keynote speech of the night was given by Her Excellency the High Commissioner of Pakistan, Naela Chohan during which she said that “today there is a growing number of women in conflict situation compelled to become refugees and migrants. It is indeed among the most urgent humanitarian challenges of our times. Much of this displacement has neither been voluntary nor orderly. People particularly women and children have been fleeing from desperate conditions of conflict, war or poverty. These helpless women and children on the move, deserve compassion and humane treatment”.

GENEVA – The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and the U.S. resettlement program is one of the most important in the world.

The longstanding U.S. policy of welcoming refugees has created a win-win situation: it has saved the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world who have in turn enriched and strengthened their new societies. The contribution of refugees and migrants to their new homes worldwide has been overwhelmingly positive.

Resettlement places provided by every country are vital. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, hope that the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution.

UNHCR and IOM remain committed to working with the U.S. Administration towards the goal we share to ensure safe and secure resettlement and immigration programmes.

We strongly believe that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race.

We will continue to engage actively and constructively with the U.S. Government, as we have done for decades, to protect those who need it most, and to offer our support on asylum and migration matters.

Diana Rahman, OAM Chair, Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and President of Australian Muslim Voice speaks to UNIC Canberra about being the daughter of migrant parents their influence and her hopes for a tolerant society. This interview is part of a series that UNIC is undertaking as part of the UN Global ‘Together, Respect, Safety and Dignity For All’ campaign.

The Secretary-General launched the TOGETHER campaign at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19 September: All 193 Member States of the United Nations unanimously welcomed the TOGETHER campaign and committed to implementing it. The campaign aims to strengthen the social contract between host countries and communities, and refugees and migrants.